Between promise and peril
Users’ risk–benefit trade-offs in their generative AI usage
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21214706 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hongjie Tang (0000-0002-8798-7738, Tsinghua University), Mengxue Ou (0000-0002-0130-7640, Peking University, corresponding author), Han Zheng (0000-0003-4032-4299, Wuhan University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Big Data & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2053-9517 • E-ISSN: 2053-9517 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/20539517251410046 |
| OpenAlex | W7117295864 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 49 |
The rapid adoption of generative AI (GenAI) has intensified public discourse on its risks and benefits. However, research remains limited on how users perceive these risks and benefits across varying psychological distances and how they balance these perceptions in their adoption decisions. Drawing on construal level theory and regulatory focus theory, we conducted in-depth interviews with GenAI users ( N = 30). Findings reveal that users perceive GenAI's risks and benefits across proximal and distal dimensions concurrently. In their adoption decisions, they demonstrate either promotion-focused orientations (i.e. risk downplaying and strength prioritization) to emphasize GenAI's benefits or prevention-focused orientations (i.e. privacy protection, output scrutinization, and reliance abstinence) to mitigate its risks. This study provides theoretical and practical implications for AI adoption and risk communication, contributing to a deeper understanding of how users navigate the complexities of emerging AI technologies
Construal level theory · Generative grammar · Generative model · Perception · Regulatory focus theory · Risk perception · AI in Service Interactions · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
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Art and the science of generative AI
Students’ voices on generative AI
Regulatory Focus Theory
Social Withdrawal in Childhood
Are risk or benefit perceptions more important for public acceptance of innovative food technologies
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Construal-level theory of psychological distance.
Thematic Analysis
Sample size in qualitative research
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Mapping public perception of artificial intelligence
Minding the gap(s)
Moral control and ownership in AI systems
The Social Amplification of Risk
A Psychological Study of the Inverse Relationship Between Perceived Risk and Perceived Benefit
Mapping mental models of parents’ risk perceptions of autonomous public transport use by young children
A systematic literature review on risk perception of Artificial Narrow Intelligence
Ignorance and the regulation of artificial intelligence
Drivers of generative AI adoption in higher education through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behaviour
Making a good decision
The artificial intelligence divide
Code Saturation Versus Meaning Saturation
Social Distance, Framing, and Judgment
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |